Overview:-
- The guide whipped out a twig from his shirt pocket with a flourish and said dramatically: “Now I show you best part of Lepakshi temple.” He got down on his knees before the large grey pillar before us. Bending forward, he passed the twig slowly under the pillar. From one end to the other! There was an audible gasp from the group of tourists, mostly Europeans, as the twig emerged from the other side. He repeated the exercise with a page of an old grimy newspaper which he pulled out from another pocket.
- This was the famed Hanging Column or Pillar of Lepakshi temple, located in Anantapur district in southern Andhra Pradesh. “This is the pillar which does not rest on the ground fully,” the guide said, rising to stand beside us, and beaming triumphantly, almost as if he were the architect of this marvel.
- There are about 70 pillars at this fabulous 16th-century temple of stone in Vijayanagar style, but this one is the best known and a tribute to the engineering genius of ancient and medieval India’s temple builders.
